Course

Course Overview

North House is pleased to welcome Trond Oalann of Hordaland, Norway to lead a course in a traditional Norwegian building method, the stavlinebygg. The stavlinebygg style is one of more than 25 post (stav) building traditions in Norway. Dating from the late 1700's, the heavy construction utilizing sill timbers and mortise and tenon joinery developed in response to the strong winds of the Nordmore area. The relatively simple truss roof system lent itself well for large barns, boathouses and agricultural and commercial storage buildings. This building style incorporates the use of stacked and scribed wall plates, an element of horizontal log construction, as well as early timber frame joinery techniques.
The key to building stavlinebygg efficiently and confidently lies in the sequence of the work and in systematic use of templates. This course will not only focus on these skills, but also on the use of hand tools in traditional ways. Learning the methods of construction is as much a part of the Norwegian heritage as the completed structure itself. This is a rare chance to learn from master craftsman in this rich Norwegian tradition, as Trond offers his first course in the US.
In this second phase of the course, Days 6-10, students will cut the joinery and raise a stavlinbygg structure roughly 5m x 8m in size, using the hewn timbers from the first phase of the course. This will be done using primarily hand tools, especially axes but will include ample practice with a variety of tools and techniques.
Students are welcome to arrive a day early before class starts and observe demonstration sessions from a delegation of traditional Norwegian craftsmen that will accompany Trond, including blacksmiths, carpenters, boat builders and joiners.
Note, by registering for Phase II only, you are enrolled in Days 6-10 of the course. If you wish to participate in Phase I as well, please register for the entire course here.